Kin of the Punisher
by Guy Fawkes522
Summary: Renegade Saga I. To Anne Possible, Frank Castle is someone very dear to her heart. But what is he to her daughter? Follows the movie Punisher: War Zone.
1. Ch 1 Disaster

Kin of the Punisher

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for plot.

Ch. 1 Disaster

Six years before prom…

"Hey Mrs. Dr. P, is Kim home?" A ten-year-old Ron Stoppable asked as he stood outside of his best friend's house. Mrs. Possible smiled at the young blond standing on her doorstep.

"Yes she is, but she's feeling a bit down ever since she got her braces. Maybe you could go and cheer her up?"

Ron stood up straight, put on a serious face, and gave a salute. "Yes ma'am."

Mrs. Possible smiled and half-saluted back, "Thanks Ronald, you're a good friend. Unlike two very naughty little boys." She turned to glare at her two sons standing in opposite corners of the living room.

"She's up in her room." Mrs. Possible stood to the side to let Ron in and watched him climb the stairs until he disappeared behind a wall.

Ron opened Kim's door quietly as not to alert her of his presence. When he saw her, he had to clench his mouth shut or else he'd burst out laughing, because there was Kim sitting on her bed, reading a book, with a scarf wrapped around the bottom half of her face.

Ron got an evil idea in his head, he got down on all fours and began to crawl toward Kim's bed, and so far, she was oblivious to his presence. When he reached her bed, she was still concentrating on her book, so Ron decided to have some fun with her.

Very slowly, he stood up and said, "Hey Kim." To say that Kim was startled would be a huge understatement. Kim must of have to gone two feet off the bed before landing on the floor, on the other side of the bed. Her book almost hit Ron, but luckily he ducked just in time, Kim stood up and glared at him.

"Ron," she said, her voice muffled by the scarf. "What are you doing here?" she sounded annoyed.

Ron smiled and said, "Your mom said you got braces and I wanna see 'em."

Kim's hands immediately went to the scarf covering her mouth, as if her life depended on the fact that her mouth was covered.

"C'mon, let me see 'em," Kim shook her head no; Ron made a move to grab the scarf. She jerked back, avoiding Ron's grasp. This went on for a while, until Ron launched on to Kim, bringing them both to the floor and they began wrestle with each other for the scarf. Even though Kim didn't want Ron to see her braces, she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips.

They were so busy having fun, they both failed to notice the phone ringing. "I got it," called Mrs. Possible from the kitchen. She walked into the living room and picked up the phone by the stairs. "Possible residence," she said. "Yes, I'd like to speak to Anne Possible," a man's voice asked. "Speaking,' she answered. "This is Martin Soap of the New York Police Department, I'm afraid I have some terrible news…"

Meanwhile, upstairs Kim and Ron were still competing for the scarf until they heard, "What!" they heard Kim's mom say. "Oh my God," she sounded distraught. Kim made her way to the stairs, while Ron let the scarf slip through his fingers, fall to the floor and soon followed her.

When they reached the stairs, they saw Mrs. Possible, leaning against the wall, her left hand over her heart, her eyes clenched shut. "What happened?" she asked. "I see, thank you," then she hung placed her right hand over her eyes and began to cry.

Kim and Ron were both at the bottom of the stairs when she asked, "Mom, what's wrong?"

Anne looked at her through watery eyes and Kim could see that these were the eyes of someone who had lost something very dear to their heart. Anne walked over to Kim, knelt down, put her hands on Kim's shoulders and said, "Kim, I need you to go to the neighbors and tell them to call your father and tell him to get here as soon as possible, okay?"

"But mom," Kim began but was silenced by her mother. "Kim, I need you to do this, please." Kim nodded her head, went to the front door and left. Anne turned to Ron and said, "Ron, I need you to look after the boys, make sure they don't move, okay."

"Yes ma'am," Ron answered solemnly. Anne went upstairs, went to her room and closed the door behind her, the tears just wouldn't stop. 'Oh God,' she thought as she fell on to her bed. 'How could this happen?' she grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest. 'I'm so sorry Frank,' she thought as she began to weep.

James Possible came home immediately when his neighbors had informed him that something had happened. The neighbors had informed him what Kim had told them: something was wrong and that Anne was crying.

When he walked into the living room, he saw Kim and Ron on the couch; they looked over to him when he closed the door. "Hi, dad," Kim called.

"Hey Kimmy," he said, "Where's your mother?"

"Upstairs, she hasn't left the bedroom since she got that call."

"Do you know who the call was from?" James asked.

Kim shook her head.

"Hm, I better go talk to her," he said as he began to climb the stairs.

When he had disappeared from their sights, Ron looked at Kim and asked, "So what do you thinks wrong with your mom?"

Kim shrugged and said, "I don't know but I hope my dad can fix it."

As he came to the door leading to his and Anne's bedroom, he could hear sniffling and a whimper every now and again. He opened the door and saw Anne lying on her side of the bed, a pillow hugged to her chest, tears running freely. James closed the door, alerting Anne to his presence.

As soon as she saw him, she got up, walked over to him, and hugged him so forcefully, that he was knocked against the door. "Oh, James," she said. "It's horrible, just horrible," she sniffled.

James wrapped his arms around her and said, "Its okay, its okay," he said patting her back. "Look, just tell me what happened."

"Frank's been shot," she said.

"You mean, like in a training exercise," James asked.

"No, no" she said, shaking her head. "He, Maria, Lisa, and Frank Jr. were having a picnic in Central Park and they saw a mob execution. When they were discovered, they… they…" she broke down into sobs again.

James pressed her close to him. "Are they okay?" he asked.

"Just Frank," she answered. "Maria, Lisa, Frank Jr. they're… Oh God I don't want to think about it."

James just held her as she cried on his shoulder, comforting her in her time of need. He had met Frank only once, but he knew how important he was to Anne. When she had calmed down, he sat her on the bed and asked, "Are you going to go see him?"

She nodded her head and said, "I have to make sure he's okay."

"When will you leave?" he asked.

"I was thinking of tomorrow, if you can handle the kids," she answered.

"Of course," he said. "Why don't you try to get some sleep and we'll sort this out in the morning."

She nodded her head again, and then she laid her head on a pillow, closed her eyes and was fast asleep. When he was certain that she was asleep, James looked to the ceiling and whispered, "How could you let this happen?"


	2. Ch 2 Funeral and Birth

Ch. 2 The Funeral and Birth

The rain poured down on the field of stone flowers, silent gathers dressed in black stood by a particular flower, with three names carved into it:

_ Maria Elizabeth_ _Castle_

_ 1968-2002 _

_ Lisa Barbara Castle_

_ 1995-2002  
_

_ Frank David Castle Jr. _

_ 1998-2002  
_

The Gatherers all had something to shelter them from the rain, all except one, the one closest to the flower. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the gray stone by his feet.

Anne Possible looked towards the silent, unsheltered figure, while the priest continued the eulogy. He was the only one that didn't have an umbrella; he just let the rain drench his clothes and hair, making it appear longer. She couldn't believe that this had happen to him, Frank was the nicest person she knew and suddenly she was brought back to the times when they were younger.

_She was crying, though that seems to be all she ever did was cry. Anne sat on her legs and held what was left of her most treasured book to her chest, as more tears filled her eyes and traveled down her cheeks. _

_Today she had, once again, been the main target of the older boy's bullying and they had gotten a hold of her favorite book. The leader of the group, Larry Harper, laugh manically at the sorrow he had cause the little girl._

_"What I can't understand is," Larry said to the group behind him. "How can she even read that garbage? I'm mean really…" _

_He reached down and took the book from her grasp. "No!" Anne cried. "Give it back!" She tried to retrieve her book but Larry just shoved her back into the dirt._

_"You want this back do ya?" Larry asked with a sneer. Anne nodded her head. "Okay then," he said. "But first you have to say, 'I'm Anne Castle and I love to read to garbage'." _

_Anne was speechless, how could she say that, in front of all those people but again her eyes fell to the remains of her book. _

_With her head bent down, she said, "I'm Anne Castle and I love…" she stopped and just couldn't say the rest. "C'mon, Castle," Larry said. "Just say I love to read-" Anne's head snapped up as Larry was cut short by some one tackling him to the ground and the two began to roll around on the ground. Eventually, the other boy managed to get on top of Larry and began punching him. Anne couldn't see the boy's face but by the dirty-blond hair she knew exactly who it was. _

"_Say it," said Anne's older brother, Frank, as he held Larry up by the back his collar. Larry suffered a black eye and had blood coming out of his nose, while Frank only had a busted lip. _

_Frank shook him. "Say it!" Frank yelled. _

_"I'm sorry," Larry said. _

_"Good, now Anne how much did that book cost?" Frank asked. _

_"Forty dollars," Anne said, clutching the book to her chest and wiping away another tear. She had saved the change from her lunch money for four months to pay for that book. _

_Frank nodded his head and turned to Larry and said, "Your going to pay her every penny back with interest, you understand?" _

_Larry nodded his head before Frank shoved him to the ground. _

_"Now get out of here!" Frank yelled. _

_Larry got up and ran as fast as he could. Then, Frank knelt down in front of Anne, pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Thanks," she whispered. _

_"No problem," Frank replied. "If they ever do something like that again, then just come get me, okay," _

_Anne was baffled by Frank's behavior, this wasn't the first time Frank had come to her rescue and what friends she did have, said their older siblings were nothing but torture to them but Frank was always kind to her. _

_"Why do you this?" she asked. "Why do you always look out for me?" _

_Frank stopped and looked straight into her eyes and said, "Because I'm your big brother, and I'll always be there for you…"_

"And I'll always be there for you, Frank," Anne whispered. "I promise."

As the funeral ended, everyone came up to Frank to offer their condolence. Frank seemed to avoid eye contact with everybody that came up to say they were sorry, that is until Anne came up.

Anne, the last of Frank's family, and no one knew that more than her. As soon as they saw each other, Anne immediately wrapped her arms around Frank, while Frank just stood there. "I'm so sorry, Frank," she said.

"So is everyone else," he replied. Anne pulled back and looked into his dark green eyes, where there was usually happiness and content; there was only sadness and something else that Anne couldn't place.

"Well if you need anything," she said. "I'll be staying at the Wendon Hotel. In fact do want a ride home?" He shook his head and walked away just as the rain was letting up.

The rain had stopped when Frank was halfway home but did he even want to go home. As soon as he got there, the memories of that which he has lost will come flooding back. What was he going to do now? What was his purpose now, that he could no longer be a loving husband and father?

As he pondered this, he heard a scream come from a passing alley; he looked into it and saw a man trying to force himself onto a woman. Frank didn't know what came over him but he suddenly found himself looking for a weapon of any kind.

He found it in the shape of a lead pipe and began walking towards the pair. Neither of them noticed him until he hit the would-be-rapist in the back of the knees. As he fell to the ground, Frank hit him square in the face again and again, until Frank's hands, clothes and parts of his face were covered in blood. Frank stopped and looked up, the woman he saw was long gone and the rain had started again.

He looked down at the carnage at his feet, and then it dawned on him. He had just killed another human being, the pipe fell from his hands, and then he took off running.

Frank slammed the door shut behind him and ran straight to the bathroom. He switched on the lights, turned the faucet on, and began scrubbing his hands furiously, trying to get the blood of his hands.

Frank thought of the man he just killed, 'A rapist,' Frank thought. 'He deserved that punishment.' He stopped washing his hands, "Punishment," he said aloud.

His thoughts then turned to his family, 'Were was their justice?' He gave the police detailed descriptions and they still did nothing. The law had failed him; the law was inadequate. He looked at himself in the mirror and he saw that he was different. Different in a way Frank couldn't explain. But then he saw what it was and at last, he had found his purpose.

_The next day…_

Anne knocked on the front door for the third time. "Frank," she called. "Frank if you're there please answer."

No reply. She bent down and took the spare key from under the welcome mat. She smiled as she remembered that she and Maria had been locked out once because Maria had forgotten her house key and they had to wait for hours on the front stoop for Frank to come home and unlock the door, Maria had put a spare key under the mat so it wouldn't happen again. She opened the door to find the living room empty. 'How convenient,' she thought sadly.

"Frank," she called again and began looking for him. She checked the upstairs and the downstairs, and still she couldn't find him. She went into the kitchen to try and think of were Frank might have gone, when she found a note with her name on it. She picked it up and turned it over and on the back were two words:

_I'm sorry._


	3. Ch 3 Family

Ch. 3 Family

_Six years later…_

'No sentries posted around the perimeter,' Frank thought, as he looked at Bueno Nacho Headquarters from on top of a hill through his binoculars. 'Sloppy for an evil genius.'

He pocketed his binoculars and drew his M4A1 assault rifle from behind his back and began moving down the hill. He had been tracking the man known as Drakken for two weeks and had now finally caught up with him, for some reason he had taken control of a fast food company and Frank had been able to track his money trail to this position.

As Frank approached the front door, he said, "He can't be that stupid can he?" Frank opened the door; it had not been locked. "Very sloppy," he said aloud.

He positioned his rifle at the ready, just in case he ran into any hostiles and slowly began to creep down the hallway, but then he stopped as he came to a flight of escalators and saw two people, actually four if he counted the two that were unconscious. The first was a woman wearing a black and green catsuit with raven black hair and pale skin, carrying someone with long red hair, on her shoulder. The second was a young man wearing a red suit and he carried another young man on his shoulder.

Frank took aim and just as he was about to squeeze the trigger, he stopped and lowered his weapon and thought, 'Can't risk compromising the mission.' He looked back just as the pair left the room, 'Sorry kids,' he thought. 'But you're on your own for now.'

He knew they'd be safe for two reasons; One: Drakken had no previous history of killing anyone, the only reason he was here in the first place was because he had a bad feeling about him. And Two: the younger pair had been captured, not killed on the spot. If they had tried to kill them, then Frank would have intervened.

As he made his way to main office, he had met meager resistance. A few henchmen here and there, had tried attacking him and ended up dead. It's obvious they didn't know who he was, which somewhat confused Frank. With his repainted body armor, the skull no longer being faded, you would think he would be more recognizable but then again, he hadn't been this far West in long time.

As he reached the main office, Frank braced himself for a fight, took a step back and kicked the door open. He found… nothing; there was absolutely no one here.

'Perhaps he left,' Frank thought. He began going through the drawers looking for something that might indicate to were Drakken had gone but found nothing. Frank began pacing the room, trying to think of were Drakken would go.

'Perhaps he never left,' he thought. 'He could still be in the building, after all this was just the third floor.' Frank left the room and to move towards the stairs, it would be quieter and he to check every floor and there were a lot of floors.

"Sixth Floor," Frank said as he reloaded his M4, so far he had encountered twelve henchmen on his way up here, he had never faced anyone with this small amount of security before, it was ridiculous.

Just as he was about to open the door, he heard something that sounded like a jet flying over but it wasn't any jet that Frank could identify.

Soon, another past over, then another and another, 'There most be a whole fleet of them going over,' he thought. 'Perhaps this is what Drakken was up to.'

Frank opened the door leading to sixth floor slowly, so not to alert anyone. The room he was in now appeared to be a lobby with a large window on one side. When Frank looked out the window, it wasn't jets that were flying out there. Huge robots flew overhead to some unknown destination; there must have been hundreds, thousands. "That can't be good." Frank said.

Suddenly he began to sprint down the halls looking for a control room, there had to be one here because of the large antenna he saw and if he couldn't find it then he'd be unable to stop those things. Finally, Frank came to a door with a sign that said, 'Control Room.'

Frank pulled out a flash-bang grenade and just as he was about to pull the pin and toss it in, when the door burst open and a large group of henchmen came running out. Frank through himself to the wall and watch as the henchmen fled. From inside the Control Room, he could hear explosions going off. When the explosions ended, Frank ventured into the room to see what had happen.

All the consuls in in the room were destroyed and there was no else left, "What happened," he wondered out as nothing was here, Frank decided to leave but as he reentered the lobby, he could see flashing lights and police cruisers, he also saw the redheaded girl and the blond boy.

Taking out his binoculars, Frank got a closer look at the pair. The boy, he was unfamiliar with but the girl he recognized immediately, "Kim," he said.

Even though it had been thirteen years since he had seen her, he could still recognize his niece, mostly due to the fact that Kim looked so much like her mother.

"Anne," he said, "Perhaps its time I come and see you."

Frank walked down the strangely familiar streets of Middleton; it had been so long since he had been here, that it felt like he was in a vague dream that he wouldn't wake up from.

It was a good thing that it was nighttime or else people would be calling the police saying they saw the Punisher going down their street.

Eventually he came to the house he was looking for, as he approached were the front door should be, he found instead a blanket covering the doorway being held up by a piece of rope.

Just as he was about to knocked on the door frame, he hesitated. 'Would they call the police, would they reject me?' he asked himself.

He shook his head; 'Anne wouldn't do that to me.' He knocked on the door frame; letting anyone who was there, know that someone was at their doorstep.

He heard a man's voice say, "Come in," so Frank ventured inside.

Very little of the Possible home had change since the last time he was here but something did catch his eye, I was a group of pictures being held in the same frame and the largest was a picture of Kim when she was just a toddler, that was the Kim Frank remembered.

"So what can I do for…" James Possible began as he came up behind Frank but stopped when he noticed all the weapons he had.

"Uh, sir," James said as he began reaching for the phone. "Is there something I could help you with?"

"Put the phone down, James," Frank said, not even turning around. James did put the phone down, not because he was told to but because of the eerily familiar voice that spoke to him.

James walked over to Frank's side he could get a look at his face, "Frank," he said. "Is that you?" Frank turned to face James, so they could talk face to face. "It is you," James whisper. "You look… Good."

That was basically all James could say to him. Frank had changed since he last saw him. Instead of his brownish-blond, wavy hair; it was jet black and slicked down. His face, which had usually worn a smile, was now an emotionless blank.

Frank nodded his head, "Is Anne here?" he asked.

"Yeah, hold on," James said as he walked over to the stairs. "Anne," he called upstairs. "There someone here to see you."

They heard footsteps coming from above them and soon, Anne Possible came into view. "Who in the world comes at 10:20 at-" she stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Frank looking up at her.

Anne slowly descended down the stairs, not quite believing that the man in front of her was her older brother, whom she hadn't seen in six years.

"Frank," she whispered as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Frank, is that really you?" she asked. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you," Frank said, and then turned to look at James. "All of you."

"You haven't been here in twelve years," Anne said.

"Thirteen," Frank corrected.

Anne smiled, "You always have to be right don't you Frank?" Before he could answer, Anne pulled Frank into a tight embrace as tears of joy streamed down her face.

"I've missed you so much," she said. She had ignored the weapons, his body armor, even the skull on his armor. All she had saw was her brother and when Frank realized this, he hesitantly put his arms around her and for the first time in thirteen years, brother and sister were reunited.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AN: I thought the end was kind of cheesy but the day I care what other people think of me, is the day I jump of a building, yay. R&R please, especially you GKN.


	4. Ch 4 Uncle?

Ch. 4 Uncle?

Frank and Anne's reunion was cut short, however, by two young voices asking, "Mom…" one began. "…Who's this?" the other finished.

Anne turned her head and saw her two sons looking dumbfounded as their mom was embracing someone unfamiliar to them.

Anne released her brother, turned fully around to face her sons, and began wiping the tears away from her eyes. She knelt down in front of the pair and said, "Boys, this is your uncle, Frank."

"We have an uncle?" one of them asked.

Frank walked over and knelt beside Anne, he looked at the twin that was farthest right to him and said, "Jim." He looked a the other one and said, "Tim."

"How did…" Jim began. "…He know?" Tim finished.

"I told you, Frank's your uncle," Anne said.

"Plus, Tim's the one who almost lost an ear when your first rocket exploded." Frank added as he pushed up some hair around Tim's ear, revealing a small white scar.

"Wow, he is our uncle," Tim said. That's when he noticed all his weapons and more importantly, the skull on his chest. "Uh mom, what's with the skull and all the guns?" Tim asked.

"Well, uhm, uh…" Anne stuttered. How could she tell her sons that her brother was an infamous vigilante?

"I'm the Punisher." Frank stated.

Anne glared at him, he shouldn't have told the boys who he was so soon. Anne was afraid that Jim and Tim, and especially Kim, wouldn't understand Frank the way she did.

"Cool!" the both said simultaneously. "Our uncle's the Punisher."

Anne's eyebrow rose in confusion and the boys took notice of this. "C'mon mom," Jim said. "Now we have a famous sister and a famous uncle who both like to kick bad guy butt."

"Speaking of Kim," James said as he look outside through a window, " She's coming up the drive with… is that Ronald?"

"Kim's here!?" Anne said. She looked at Frank and told him hide.

"What? Why?" Frank asked.

"Just do it!" she said, as she pushed him. Since he wasn't expecting it, Anne was able to knock Frank down, behind the couch. As soon as Frank was on the ground, Kim and Ron came in, wearing their prom attire.

"Mom, Dad," Kim called. "We're home."

"I can see that, Kim," Anne said, coming out from the living room. "I can also see that you're home with someone different then who left with. Care to explain?" She crossed her arms just as James walked in.

"Care to explain what?" he asked.

"Why Kim is with Ron instead of Eric," Anne replied.

"Yes," James said. "I'd very much like to hear that."

"Well," Kim said, rubbing the back of her neck. "After we stopped Drakken, we went back to the prom and…"

"We?" her father questioned, also crossing his arms. "Yeah," Kim said. "Me and Ron went back, and danced, and…"

"You what?" her father inquired. "We kissed!" Kim blurted out. They heard a voice coming from the living room say, "About time."

"Boys!" Anne scolded as she turned to look in the living room. "We're going," one of them called as they ran up the stairs and into their room.

"But," Anne said, turning to face her daughter again. "I have to agree with the boys. What took so long?"

Kim and Ron's mouths both dropped. "You knew… Me… Her…" Ron stuttered.

"Well it wasn't that hard to figure out," her father said. "Why don't I put a pot of coffee on and you two come into the kitchen and tell us all about it."

They began moving towards the kitchen and they went past the couch Ron tripped and fell flat on his face.

"Ron," Kim said looking down at him. "Can't you go five minutes without tripping over… somebody else's feet?"

Anne and James turned around and saw Frank looking up them.

"Well Anne," Frank said, getting up. "Looks like they found me. Is it their turn to hide now?" he looked down at Ron, who was still on the floor. Frank bent down, grabbed him by his collar and hoisted him up.

"Shut up, Frank," Anne muttered, while Frank flashed a quick half-smile.

"Thanks man," Ron said, as he dusted himself off and straitened his tuxedo, Frank only nodded.

"Uh, mom, who is this?" Kim asked.

"This is your Uncle Frank, honey," Anne said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you remember him?"

"I can't say that I do," Kim said, looking at her mother.

"Well, hi," Ron said, extending his hand towards Frank. "I'm Ron Stoppable, Kim's… err boyfriend?" he looked questionably at Kim.

She nodded her head and smiled, he smiled back.

"Frank Castle," he said, shaking Ron's hand.

"Frank Castle," Ron thought out loud. "Why does that name sound familiar,"

"I'm the Punisher." Frank said.

"Frank," Anne sighed. "Do you have to be so blunt?"

"I'm not going to lie, Anne," Frank said. "Not you, Kim, or the twins."

"So," Kim said. "My 'uncle' is New York's most notorious vigilante," it was more a statement then a question."And when were you going to tell me?"

"I was almost hoping that I wouldn't have to tell you," Anne said, casting her eyes to the ground. "But I knew I'd have to. I just didn't what you to find out this way."

"But you'd figure it out eventually," James said. "Once you had seen Frank on the news or somewhere, and realized Frank and your mother had the same last name…"

"I didn't know mom's maiden name was Castle," Kim interrupted.

"Really," James said, looking at his wife. "You never told Kim your maiden name?"

"She never asked," Anne retorted.

"James," Frank spoke up. "Didn't you say that you were going to make some coffee? Because I could use a cup."

"Yeah, I think I'll go do that, now," he said, going into the kitchen.

The time spent in the kitchen was awkward at best. Kim was highly suspicious of Frank and hardly ever took her eyes off him. Frank was aware of this but gave little indication that he knew that Kim kept looking at him. Frank never really cared what anyone thought about him, but Kim being wary of him was somewhat upsetting. He stared at his cup of coffee, thinking about one of the few times he had visited.

_Kim was running through a grove of trees, trying to escape the person who was chasing her._

_ Suddenly, the man she was fleeing from came out from behind a tree. "No," she cried. She turned around to try and get away but the man scooped her up into his strong arms._

_ He brought her up to his face and began planting kisses on her face. "Put me down, Uncle Frank," Kim said while laughing._

_ "Not until you say it," Frank said. _

_"Okay," Kim complied. "You're stronger than daddy,"_

_ "Thank you," Frank said. "Now, how about some ice cream?" he said as he began walking._

_ "Yay," Kim cheered._

_ Frank stopped and asked, "Don't you want me to put you down?" Kim shook her head, her pigtails swirling about. "Alright then," he said as he started walking again. _

"_Ice cream, Frank?" Anne scolded, as she wiped vanilla ice cream off of Kim's face. "Honestly, you're going to spoil my child before you even have your own."_

_ "And when I do," Frank said, smiling. "I'll spoil them too." _

_"Their father's in the military, I doubt they'll be spoiled. I bet their first words are going to be 'Yes sir'." Anne said, saluting. _

_"We'll see," Frank said, looking at his watch. "Oh, I got a go or I'll miss my flight." He grabbed his coat and suitcase, and headed for the door. _

_Kim got out of her chair, ran to Frank, wrapped her arms around Frank's leg, looked up at him and said, "Don't go." _

_"I have to go, Kim," he said. Kim decided to use her secret weapon. Her eyes grew large and almost tearful, her lower lip protruded outwards. _

_Frank smiled, "The Puppy-Dog-Pout," he said, rubbing Kim's head. "Nice try, kido but your mom use to pull that one me all the time and now it doesn't work on anymore."_

_ Even though Frank denied Kim's request to stay, he was still moved by her sadness. _

_"Tell you, what," he said as he pulled her off his leg and opened his suitcase. "I have a friend here that's a bit lonely." He pulled out a black and white stuffed animal. "His name's Pandaroo and think he could use some cheering up."_

_ Kim gasped, then immediately snatched the toy from his hands and hugged it._

_ "I think she likes it," Anne commented. "I LOVE it," Kim corrected. "I love you Uncle Frank."_

"Frank," Anne called.

Frank shook his as if he had just woke up. "Huh, what," he said.

"I said 'would you like to stay in the guest room?'" Anne asked. Frank took note that only he, Anne, and Kim were in the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure, excuse me," he said as he got up and left the room.


End file.
